Perhaps I did not have the most “normal” Mom. I don’t really know if a normal mom exists but mine is pretty kick-ass, nonetheless. I can’t imagine having one of those normal moms. It sounds terrible. Thanks mom for never being normal.

Thanks Moms for without you, we would all not be here and most of us would be much worse people without one. I’m thankful for the ladies who embrace being a mom and love doing it. I have no interest in the whole affair but I’m glad someone is and loving it. Moms come in all shapes and sizes, biological or not.

Moms- Thank you for all you do, all you’ve done and I look forward to crossing paths with the great people you all made. Cheers.

An ironic but a purposeful choice of quote. Yesterday I choose to be silent on social media as my part on International Women’s Day, a sort of, “Be careful what you wish for”. Every woman should be a feminist and want to celebrate women but it’s the not women voices that make a real difference. Stay with me.

It’s the people who are not women that make it all more possible for equality. If protests have taught me anything, it’s when the people who are not being oppressed see the ludicrousness that real change starts to happen. It’s not about being for one sex over another, it’s simply recognizing we are both people and its fucking stupid not to stand up for the rights of another human being.

As a business owner I have to be aware of what side my business takes, if any. There was a point that I struggled with how much to reveal. Do I keep my brand separate from me as a person? Do I swear as a brand? Because as a person, I swear a whoooole lot. Do I have separate instagram accounts? Where does my brand start and I as a person, end?

I went back and forth on this many times. It all changed after an article on Startup Fashion (tried to find to no avail), I finally chose. The article read if I were to be honest (and I am honestly a person who says fuck) and if I was looking to keep my brand authentic, I would use my own voice. Authentic attracts authentic. I love creating in my house and making things but I always struggle with the marketing aspect. It makes me feel silly, pushy and fake. When I feel things are fake I lose interest as a brand and a consumer. I have no time for inauthenticity.

So onto where I’m really heading. In the last few weeksmonths year our political climate is mirroring our actual climate; Shit is getting pretty scary. I have had to choose a side, not such a hard choice. I had to choose my level of involvement and where I feel comfortable posting my opinions and my involvements.

I’ve had to make some choices. My facebook has 2 sides my brand & me as a person. Pretty easy choice as far as that goes. My personal facebook posts are filled with scathing political rants. My brand remains filled with posts about art, women, and relatively passive posts. I have 1 Twitter and 1 Instagram. My original thought was I didn’t want to deal with 2 separate accounts and don’t post enough on either to support 2 accounts. My Twitter account is mostly brand stuff with my personal mixed in. My Instagram is brand stuff but much more personal. Then as the political climate heated up, much like our changing climate -how poetic. My social media has taken a turn.

As I got more involved, I got more pissed. Partially fueled by my anger at what has become normal, partially decided by it was becoming harder to hide.

Fuck it.

I knew my choices as a consumer were becoming more defined by companies and the stances they took. I cheered when a designer upon getting an order from Ivanka Trump also let her know her purchase would be going right into the Hillary Clinton campaign. I would simply be a hypocrite if I hid myself. So here the fuck I am.

I am a woman business owner who refuses to let my country be sacrificed to a dictator and all his little whims. This election was fucking bloody.

We are all in a mortal battle for all that is right and wrong and it goes far beyond political parties. A madman fed on the anger of a nation and is selling them what they think they wanted, someone to blame.

Nope doesn’t sound at all familiar….

The majority spoke. The majority was ignored. Our country is sick. The people who show up on the street, people who refuse to not sit back and watch the ugliness from their TVs are the fucking heros. We have a lot of true life heroes these days. Good thing because we have a hell of a lot of villains. I am so tired of “my side” as being classified as lazy, whiny and jobless.

I will be on the front lines. I will be loud. I will get into uncomfortable conversations with those I love as well as complete strangers. I don’t fucking care if someone has no interest in buying from my business because I think all people have the same rights and that I care about life, not just while it’s in the womb. If you want to know where I stand, ASK. I will most certainly tell you. I will not be silent, muted or uninvolved.

My business is my child and I refuse to raise a child that has no opinion-

Today I cant even believe how many people I know that are just at the precipice of awesomeness in the last week. So this is gonna be a long one with lots of nice things about great people whom I love–Sorry ’bout that.

My brother is all set for some new cool things at his job and I’m terribly proud of all the work he’s done to get to a place he likes, doing pretty cool stuff that he likes to do. So awesome. He’s just this cool person that I’m so glad to know and have watched evolve over the years. So proud.

My dear friend, Erin who is crazy brave and exudes life & warmth. Her charm is utterly undeniable. Well she is preparing to go to NY FASHION WEEK!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!! Please go check out her fundraising campaign on Indiegogo!!!! I loved to go through school with her @ SAIC!!! I’ve grown up as a designer with her. Erin is someone who has always encouraged me at every tiny little step while being one of my best critics. I can NOT WAIT to see her collection. So, so cool.

And last but not least my mom has been showing her Pomeranian, Emily. Emmy regularly makes an appearance on my Instagram, because seriously she is the freaking cutest dog. She is so tiny and she WORKS the runway, I’m told. (She is also making an appearance in my upcoming Bookish collection along with my brother). I apologize for my lack of correct terms and such but Emmy won!!! I’m not sure exactly what it’s called like- “Best Bitch”?. Ok it’s not exact but it’s not far off. She has a point towards being a champion. It’s a big deal. I am so proud of my mom for dusting off her grooming skills and doing Emmy’s winning show cut but also being the handler to show her. It’s pretty cool considering my mom’s “normal” relationship to animals is her running her rescue New Leash on Life and tending to far too many animals. It’s so awesome to see her not only do this pretty scary thing but to WIN at it against people who are completely professional. Seriously, watch- Best In Show. You have NO idea. And then as a little cool thing I hope I got a dog adopted to an awesome home for her. It would be awesome to help out her that way.

Congratulations to all you amazing people and I am so proud of all of you!!!! My only regret is you all had to share a post, well that and my brother was in a post called “Best Bitch”. I am just so proud and excited for you all!

All my blog posts are little glimpses into my head, even the weekly quotes- Because Mondays Suck. These are not chosen at random. They are reminders, a diary of where my head is at and this week is certainly no exception. I strive to not put my personal bs all over Facebook (but seriously it sounds so delicious at times, I just have to fantasize about all the comments and likes it would get). This week I’m feeling pretty damn uncomfortable at a place where I should feel completely comfortable. My sense of peace has been trampled all over. I’ve felt scared and mad. Being truly scared is awful. I had to do some pretty uncomfortable things to some people that are already in bad places to keep my own little place of the world sane. It’s their fault but I do still feel bad, I really do. But one thing I do know about myself I will not let other people make their chaos, my chaos. I will fight if it’s worth it. I am and will always be a fighter. If I don’t fight, it’s because I don’t care about it. I’m a bitch. But bitches get stuff done. It’s better to be a bitch.